U.S. CattleTrace, the leader in animal disease traceability, is unveiling the U.S. CattleTrace Tag Store, located on their website (www.uscattletrace.org/tagstore).

To create a robust contact tracing system in the United States, said system must operate at the speed of commerce. Currently in the cattle industry, the most cost-effective form of identification that is efficient for traceability and widely adopted is RFID ear tags. U.S. CattleTrace has also identified that RFID tags can be difficult to find and purchase in an online setting.

“In my mind, getting RFID tags in the ears of cattle is critical if you want to participate with animal disease traceability,” U.S. CattleTrace Board of Directors Chairman Brandon Depenbusch said. “The process of getting a hold of this technology can be difficult, so we want this new online experience to be easy to use, while also giving U.S. CattleTrace members the opportunity to save money on their tags.”

The organization has partnered with tag distributors so that interested parties can purchase RFID tags on the web page and have them shipped directly to their operations. Members of U.S. CattleTrace will also receive exclusive discounts on tags that can be used for disease traceability, with discounts of up to 50 percent off.

In order to receive the U.S. CattleTrace membership discount, purchasers must first complete the U.S. CattleTrace membership application (www.uscattletrace.org/membership). Once received, they will receive an email to the listed address that will include membership information, as well as the coupon code for all tags on the U.S. CattleTrace tag storefront.

In August 2018, CattleTrace Inc. was formally established as a private, not-for-profit corporation to securely maintain and manage the data collected as part of the disease traceability pilot project. A board of directors with representatives from cow-calf, livestock market and cattle feeding sectors was named to lead CattleTrace Inc. In January 2020, the board voted to change the name to U.S. CattleTrace Inc. to formally establish the multi-state initiative to advance disease traceability. To learn more about U.S. CattleTrace or receive information on how to participate, visit www.uscattletrace.org